The Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Thursday, reversing the previous day’s ceasefire rally even as the International Monetary Fund announced a staff-level agreement for Sri Lanka’s fifth and sixth reviews.
The All Share Price Index fell 0.33 percent, or 73.06 points, to 21,844.54. The S&P SL20 declined 0.24 percent, or 14.32 points, to 6,076.18. Turnover was Rs 2.965 billion, with the capital goods sector generating Rs 879.98 million.
“People are not confident enough because of global uncertainty,” Dimantha Matthew, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at First Capital Holdings PLC, told EconomyNext. “The market started down, saw a bit of recovery in midday but ended down.”
The pull-back contrasts with April 8’s 4.21 percent rally that followed the US-Iran ceasefire announcement and points to lingering concerns over Lebanon escalation and ceasefire fragility rather than domestic fundamentals. The IMF’s same-day announcement of a staff-level agreement for a $700 million disbursement appears to have been overshadowed.
National Development Bank shares rose 3.41 percent to Rs 113.75, continuing a recovery from the 15 percent fall recorded after news of the Rs 13.2 billion internal fraud broke. Nations Trust Bank gained 1.65 percent and Janashakthi Insurance rose 8.74 percent.
“Most banks were slightly up, after short-term negativity because of NDB, recoveries seen these days,” Matthew added.
Dialog Axiata led the decliners, down 2.47 percent at Rs 31.60, followed by John Keells Holdings (-1.02 percent) and Melstacorp (-1.14 percent). Cargills Bank listed 294.2 million shares from its rights issue on Thursday, raising Rs 2.5 billion in new capital.
Source: EconomyNext
